


Take My Youth

by Skydancer8



Series: NCT One-shots [3]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Comfort, Eating Disorders, Happy Ending, Manager - Freeform, NCT Dream Ensemble-centric, NCT Ensemble - Freeform, One Shot, Sad, Suicidal Thoughts, Violence, not really a disorder though, secret
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-20 09:18:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17619689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skydancer8/pseuds/Skydancer8
Summary: After Mark leaves NCT Dream, they are given new managers with hopes that the new comeback would be a success despite losing one member. However, things take a turn when the new managers have a different intention in mind.





	Take My Youth

The door clicked open and six eyes looked up simultaneously at the two men standing at the doorway. Their shoes clanked noisily on the floor as they entered, an air of superiority surrounding them. The Dreamies exchanged glances at the sight if their new managers.

"Hello, my name is Jong Sejun, and this is my partner Kim Jaesung" Sejun greeted, a tight smile on his face. "As an unfixed unit, you lose members, and now you've lost the pillar of this group, Mark Lee."

"So we have been taken in as your new managers to make sure you catch up and maintain the quality you have" Jaesung continued and clapped his hands. Awkwardly, everyone else followed suite until they drifted back into silence. "Be aware that we will have no mercy, for the sake of this group. Our own sons were trainees, but dropped out due to pressure, so we have made it our responsibility to make sure you can prove yourself as idols."

"Are NCT 127 getting new managers too?" Renjun spoke up,breaking the tension. 

"I will be managing 127 also" Sejun said comfortingly. "Other than that, no other additions. Can I know who is the leader?"

The Dreamies exchanged looks.

"We have no leader, for now." Jaemin said in monotone, fiddling with his fingers behind his back. "We have four members of the same age."

Jaesung clicked his tongue and paced slowly in front of them, scanning their features and body proportions. After a few rounds, he stopped in front of Jeno, eyebrows raised.

"You look like a leader, thats for sure." Jaesung laughed and Sejun followed. "We'll be putting a lot of pressure on the leader, and you look like someone who'll be able to take it. What's your name?"

"J-Jeno"

There was a loud sound and everyone turned to look at Sejun who was holding a cane that was still vibrating from the impact with the floor. "Full name, no stuttering. Add 'sir' at the end. Where's your respect?"

Jeno licked his lips nervously. "Lee Jeno...sir"

"Well, Jeno" Jaesung smiled and patted his shoulder. "Good luck on being the leader."

 

 

 

Jaemin tried to tune out the sound of crying.

His own legs were blue from the cane that had struck them whenever he was out of position. The new choreography was so intense, he barely had enough time to catch his breath. He had no idea if he was going to be able to sing live while moving too fast and too sharply.

"Just two more minutes, sweetie, and then you can join the others" Jaesung's voice sounded taunting.

Renjun had been in a full-plank for 3 minutes now, supporting Jaesung's weight on his back. Jaemin could see him from the mirror while he was frozen in position for Sejun to check. Renjun's arms were shaking badly and his tears fell to the floor. Jaemin focused once more on his current state at the sound of the cane hitting flesh.

Jisung cried out, retracting his leg that was outstretched 2 centimeters too far.

"You are young. You must have enough stamina and strength to tackle this kind of choreo." Sejun's voice resonated around the room. "If not, you'll end up like your friend over there"

Isolated at the corner of the practice room, Chenle was curled up with earphones in his ears, the same song looping over and over again. His right leg was stretched out, his ankle swollen and slowly turning blue.

"Time's up!" Jaesung yelled, getting off of Renjun's back as the boy collapsed in tears. "Remember, it is your duty as the oldest to make sure the younger ones don't get hurt"

Jaesung pointed at Chenle. "That is your fault. Now you have received punishment for it, understood?"

Renjun nodded before he scrambled to his feet and hobbled back to his position. The music started once more and Jaemin inhaled as much air as he could.

 

 

 

Only Jeno and Jaemin were left in the room with Jaesung. 

The others had been dismissed but they were told to stay back. Their pants echoed around the room as Jaesung flipped through the pages of his clipboard. They were both scared of what Jaesung was going to say.

"Now Jeno...you are the leader, correct?"

Jeno nodded. "Yes, sir"

Jaesung looked up. "Now, tell me all the mistakes that happened during practice."

Time froze and Jeno swallowed heavily. He racked his brain to remember every single mistake each member had made.

"Chenle landed wrong during the jump, and sprained is ankle. Jisung c-can't...couldn't stretch out his leg at the right measurement and was too fast during the bridge. Renjun kept bumping into Jaemin during the position switch and tripping during the...part where we reverse our moves. Hyuck kept forgetting to spin from the left to right after kneeling and Jaemin kept collapsing during the sudden freeze. I kept tripping during the position switch after the chorus."

The room was silent once more and Jeno prayed that they would be dismissed.

"Very well"

There was the sound of the cane slicing the air before it made contact with Jeno's arm. Jeno bit his lip to stop himself from screaming as it went on longer and longer, at his legs, at his back, at his arms. Though, he realized none of them were near his face or collarbones where the bruises could be seen.

"Every mistake your members make means a longer punishment. That is your duty as the leader, to make sure every performance-" he lashed once more. "Is perfect"

Jeno fell to his knees from the pain, head bowed. Jaesung walked over to Jaemin.

"And you-"

He brought down the cane and Jaemin whimpered from the impact, curling into himself but the caning went on and on with no stop. 

"Every mistake Jeno does not point out to me will mean you getting punished for his forgetfulness."

Jeno looked up in terror as Jaemin finally stumbled back and collapsed to the floor. Jeno scrambled to help him up, hugging the latter tightly. Jaesung smirked and walked out of the rom. Jaemin's cries filled the room and Jeno held him close,pressing their bruised body close to each other.

 

 

 

 

"You're doing great guys. Keep it up!"

Haechan could not believe that Sejun was the same manager as in Dream. He was being nice to all the 127 members and they weren't even trying as hard as Dream had just moments ago. After running full speed to get to 127, he had been shocked by the appearance of Sejun and expected more punishment. In the end, there were nothing but compliments.

"Haechan, you're out of position!" Sejun called.

He had been calling out Haechan the whole time. Haechan didn't deny the fact that he was a mess. His muscles screamed for him to stop dancing and take a break, but there was no way he would be able to run from it. The bruises on his body couldn't be seen with his clothes covering them, but he had seen the ugly blue spots when he had checked at the bathroom earlier. He panted heavily with every phrase they danced through, eyesight getting blurry.

"Haechan, you're too far to the right"

Haechan hissed from the pain in his legs and they finally gave out, making his body fall to the floor.

Ten pairs of eyes looked at him.

"Dream's practice ended early today. What are you so tired for? Everyone is tired here" Sejun called out.

Haechan laughed in his head. Finished early? What did that mean?

"Get on your feet, Hyuck" Taeyong called and Haechan stumbled up, wiping the beads of sweat on his forehead. "Keep up, and stop making mistakes. You need to focus more"

Haechan felt eyes galring at him from all directions. They were annoyed at him for messing up, for making them repeat the song. He made brief eye contact with Mark, but the latter looked away, Inside his head, Donghyuck started to cry.

 

 

 

 

The painful practice continued for weeks.

Taking advantage of Jeno's strength, he'd been the stepping place for flying moves that were usually Haechan's. The choreography was tight and involved sudden change of directions and halted movements that switched abruptly to another set of moves. Their legs were bruised from the cane and cramped from the footwork.

Everyone was wearing long sleeves, taking the heat rather than feeling the full impact of the cane to their arms.

"A little bit more and we'll get this part done!" Haechan called out and Jaesung narrowed his eyes. There was a brief sound of replies before the music started again. Jaesung wanted to break the boys, the way SM had broken his child and driven him to suicide. He wanted to see how these pathetic boys could have succeeded and not ended up like his one and only son.

"1 and 2 and 3 and turn and slide, halt, down, down, down, up, switch!" Haechan called out the moves though he sounded breathless. 

He was surely the mental anchor of the group. Jaesung and Sejun made eye contact. They had to do something about that.

 

 

 

Haechan was the one to stay back that time. He had no training after Dream and should have been able to get a few minutes of rest at the very least.

"Haechan, we've been analyzing your statistics, since you're in both groups and we find your performance inconsistent" Jaesung spoke up while Sejun nodded.

Haechan looked down. If it wasn't for the fact that he had Dream before 127, he was sure he'd have some energy left to dance in 127, but trying to escape punishment and save Jeno and Jaemin from the cane, he'd use up all his energy for Dream.

"We suspect that your weight might be the problem"

Haechan looked up, shocked, and Sejun grabbed his face between his fingers roughly. "Those who are not visuals should make it up by being talented, at the very least."

Haechan felt a pang of pain to his chest.

Jaesung was using Haechan's phone, installing and app and typing things. "I've installed a diet app on your phone and set the target weekly in which we'll be checking to make sure you're not slacking off."

He gave Haechan back his phone Haechan looked at the weekly weight targets, instantly processing how dangerously low they were.

"Just so you know, failure would not mean punishment to you, but to your younger members"

Haechan's head snapped up, his hand trembling while holding his phone. There was no way he's let them touch poor Jisung and Chenle. One way or another, he had to reach the weekly targets.

"Oh, and here-" Sejun passed a file to Haechan, who looked at it warily. "-for motivation. Go read it at your dorm and have a good rest...if you feel like having one."

Haechan bowed with a small "Thanks you,sir" before walking out and literally running to the dorm. He tried to stay calm as he made his way to his own bedroom (Mark didn't sleep there anymore) and sat on his bed. With trembling hands, he opened the file and pulled out the papers inside. Printed on them, were small boxes that Haechan identified as Twitter and Youtube comments.

_When did Haechan grow so fat?_

_What is 127? 9 abs and 1 tummy. HAHAHAHA~_

_Seriously, isn't anyone gonna mention that he gained weight?_

_Wow, Haechan's been letting himself loose these past week. Look at those cheeks!_

_His cheeks are really bouncy though! I wanna squishhhhh_

Haechan read through the many comments, biting his lower lip in an effort to process the information. His own fans had seen him gaining weight. Haechan looked at the mirror in his room, scanning his face, his cheeks, his torso, his legs.

He pulled a pillow close to his face and screamed.

 

 

In Jaemin and Jeno's shared room, they were both on Jaemin's bed, shirtless but not embarrassed.

"They look like stars" Jaemin commented at the bruises that littered their bodies. "They form the constellation of our hardships."

His hands were gentle as they spread ointment on Jeno's back. Jeno was quiet, deep in thought. He thought of his members, how he'd been helpless to save them from the punishment, how useless he felt as the new leader of NCT Dream. He thought of the future when they'd be old enough to run away from the cane, but would see other young kids go through the same thing.

"I can feel how deep you are in thought" Jaemin said, gently massaging Jeno's back. "You're a good leader, Jeno, but you can't save us from this. We chose this path, not you."

Jeno turned around to look at Jaemin in the eyes.

There were no words shared between them, just silence as they bathed in each others fears and worries. They read the stress within the creases of their lips and the hollowness of their eyes. 

Shared pain passed between them, as did hope and comfort.

 

 

 

"Jisung, stop, it's been hours."

Jisung did not stop. He kept his limbs moving to the music that he had looped, making sure every step was executed perfectly with no flaws. He had to make the complicated dance muscle memory, there was no other way for him to dance it consistently.

"Jisung, please-" 

Jisung kept on dancing. In his head, he could hear the sound of Jeno and Jaemin crying in their room. He could hear Renjun's door squeak open every night where he's slip out and come back early in the morning from who knows where. He heard Haechan vomiting up his lunch because his weight went up and he'd go into a state of panic because he only had days left before the weighing. He heard Chenle's scream of pain whenever he'd be hit when he couldn't remember the whole lyrics of the song and where each member should be at that time.

"PARK JISUNG!!!"

Chenle staggered to the computer, turned it off, and grabbed Jisung, letting the young boy collapse to the ground in a mess of tears. He knew Jisung only danced because it was an escapism, but his overworking habits had gone to far the past month.

"I don't want them to be hurt anymore!" Jisung wailed into Chenle's shoulder. "I can't bear to see them like that anymore."

Chenle hushed him. "It's not just your fault, Sungie"

Jisung pulled away and looked at Chenle in the eye. "Hyung, why did he not punish us?"

 

 

 

It was almost midnight and Renjun made his way out of the dorm.

He's been doing it for weeks now, after he couldn't stand seeing how broken Jisung and Chenle were becoming. He had made a deal with Sejun, a deal to limit the amount of punishment on the two youngest. He made his way to Sejun's room and knocked gently. The door opened and he entered, taking in the smell of alcohol.

Renjun looked down as he took off his shirt and made his way to Sejun's room. Sejun was also shirtless and already in bed. Calming his heart, Renjun slipped under the covers and let the hairy arms of Sejun wrap around his torso, feeling the heat of flesh against his back.

"Hyunjin" Sejun mumbled.

Renjun figured that was the name of his son, and Renjun had had a similar build to him. He looked at the clock and focused on the second hand, as it ticked too slow for his liking. He tried to keep himself still, evening out his breaths. When he thought of who he was doing it for, a small smile made its way on his face. It gave him strength to survive more nights without losing his mind.

A single tear dropped on his pillow.

 

 

 

There was the sound screaming.

Jaemin rushed to Haechan's room, seeing the boy curled up in the corner, rocking back and forth with his hands over his ears. Haechan had been having panic attacks often, most of the time when the end of the week would come. 

He had been skipping meals and exercising whenever he could, causing his stomach to flip whenever he consumed something and ended up with him vomiting it all out. When Jaemin carefully pried his hands away and tugged him into a hug, he could feel how skinny and how small Haechan had become. It wasn't normal. He should be happy, like sunshine, but he'd been giving the hard task of losing as much weight as possible. 

Jaemin suspected he might be nearing the 40's.

"Haechan, you're okay! You can meet the target this week. Stop thinking about it!" Jaemin comforted.

"I can't! It's too low! It's too low! It's too low!" Haechan repeated while sobbing. "What if I don't make it?"

Jaemin passed his hand over Haechan's sinking stomach and protruding ribs. "This, Hyuck, is not the body of someone who is overweight. This is dangerous, can't you see?"

"I can't do anything about it, or Jisung will get punished" Haechan wailed pulling at his hair. 

Jaemin hugged him closer. They were broken puppets of two puppeteers.

 

 

 

"FOCUS LEE DONGHYUCK!!!"

Everyone looked over at Haechan who had once again collapsed to the floor. His arms trembled as he stood up, head hung low. Yuta clicked his tongue in annoyance. Haechan had seemed out of it lately, and came to practice late often too. 

They were all tired, but Haechan was forcing them to repeat the music endlessly and they were sick and tired of it. When Haechan fell down for what seemed to be the dozenth time, they had had enough.

"Look, if you don't want to give your full cooperation, get out!" Taeyong yelled and Haechan's eyes widened. 'You're slacking off."

"He's right, Hyuck" Mark added, "You need to get your head on straight"

'He's just playing around, he's not even sleeping at our dorm anymore" Johnny said and the other nodded,

Doyoung stepped forward. "We can't work like this , Haechan, we're idols. We were trained to work hard, but you can't seem to catch up with that"

Haechan didn't say anything. His stomach hurt from no eating and excessive exercise. Instead, he apologized and gave a small smile that wavered as if suppressing sobs. His arms dangled by his sides. His eyes scanned everyone in the room.

When Mark looked into Haechan's eyes, he saw a deadly shine, as if they were made of glass carelessly put together...waiting to shatter once more. Had they not been a part of each other, he wouldn't have realized. But he did.

There was something breaking his friend, and he felt like breaking apart too.

Haechan shook his head ever so slightly before running out of the room. They had done something terribly wrong.

 

 

Jeno's phone rang and he picked up when he saw Haechan's name.

_"Jeno, I'm at the rooftop"_

Jeno froze before he quickened his pace towards the rooftop. He knew where it was going. He had seen Jaemin stare at the knives at the kitchen a second too long. He had seen Renjun take a bottle of pills from the cupboard, looking at it for a moment before putting it back. He had seen Chenle bang his fist against the mirror and Jisung slam his head into his mattress again and again.

He knew where it was going.

"Why are you up there?"

_"...I don't feel good"_

Jeno was running up the stairs and burst through the rooftop doors. His heart stopped when he saw Haechan sitting at the edge, his legs dangling off the side of the SM building. With no hesitation, he rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Haechan's waist. Haechan's shoulders were shaking, he had been crying.

"We're gonna be okay, Channie" Jeno whispered in his ear. "We're okay"

 

 

 

Mark scrolled through his phone and opened NCT Dream's latest comeback, So Come At Me

True to the comments of the senior idols, they had risen to a whole different level. The whole cute or chick concept had been pushed aside and the Go concept was back, only way more intense. The choreography was insanely tight and changed formations quickly. 

He looked at the lyrics.

 

_So what if they think I'm the underdog_

_In the end they try to control the best but become inferior_

_Look past the patterns on my skin_

_The evidence that I was not spoon fed_

_I worked for this_

_So come at me_

 

The song changed moods after Chenle finished singing, from slightly rockish style to a more EDM kind of sound and it was Haechan's turn to...rap...kind of singing??? Mark tilted his head to one side and looked at the lyrics once again. Every phrase build up in dynamic and intensity that suited Haechan's voice and Renjun's adlibs.

 

_So what if I get up to more of you_

_If I'm just a loser than why do you come at me (so come at me)_

_The days I spent the thinks I see (what I see)_

_You're a child in experience compared to me_

_So indulge the fruit of my effort and pain (pretend it's yours)_

_And call me a faker again with no guilt_

_And take another fruit to find it poisoned (Shame on you)_

 

However, the chorus was mainly instrumental with intense EDM but the things Jeno, Jaemin and Jisung shouted during small spaces between the music gave a big impact

 

_So come at me,_

_My soul is not yours to take_

 

_So come at me,_

_I am just myself,_

 

_So come at me,_

_Don't speak when you've done nothing_

 

_So come at me,_

_I'll fight you all back anyway_

 

Mark scrolled through the comments and many were surprised at the sudden change of concept. Most of the terms used involved 'going off' or 'snapped' or 'went hard' or 'no longer boys'. But most of them were commenting on how they looked on stage.

 

_They look tired out of their minds._

_They're wearing long sleeves, isn't it hot?_

_They've all gotten so skinny, but Haechan's wearing layers of clothing and still looks small._

_SM, they need rest after this!_

_They seem stressed out, like they're not really enjoying it._

 

 

Mark bit his lip. He felt worry creeping into his heart at the thought of his former unit.

 

 

 

The SM Dream concert appeared once more and the waiting room was chaotic. 

After an intense performance of 'We Go Up, 'Go' and 'So Come At Me', the Dreamies were dead tired and were in the NCT Dream waiting room while NCT U went up to perform. after NCT 127. Haechan still hadn't finished performing so everyone else was in the waiting room, drinking water and preparing for the ending stage until the door flew open and two staffs entered urriedly, pulling Haechan along and set him on the floor. He was conscious, but barely.

Renjun closed the door and locked it, not wanting the Non-U 127 members to see.

"What's wrong with him?" Jisung asked worriedly as he was lowered until he was on his back. Jeno and Jaemin stripped him of socks and extra layers of clothing. A staff member placed a respirator over Haechan's nose and mouth, while Chenle coaxed him to inhale as deep as he could.

"How many performances did he do today?" A staff member asked.

"22 I think. He had a few collaborations too" Jeno replied

"Did he eat before performing?"

The members were quiet. Weighing was the day after, so Haechan decided not to take the risk despite their words of worries. 

 

 

 

Taeyong found Jaemin at the rooftop of the SM building, cross legged on the floor while looking at the dark sky.

Feeling something off going on with NCT Dream, he tried to find a member to talk to, but they were all dead tired. However, a staff had told him that Jaemin liked to look at the sky every midnight so he checked.

With quiet footsteps, he sat beside Jaemin, the younger looking over at him.

"Hyung?"

Taeyong raised his eyebrows. "Just wanted to ask if Dream is doing okay. You guys aren't as hyper as usual"

Jaemin looked at his hands. The Dreamies had promised to keep it between themselves, since telling anyone else would cause more damage and might bring them to disbandment. However, when Jaemin looked into Taeyong's eyes, he felt a sharp pang to his heart. He was reminded of his parents at home who thought he was happy, who would defend him no matter what.

"Taeyong, why were you mad at Hyuckie that day?'

Taeyong looked at the sky and sighed. "We were stressed, I guess, and we kinda overreacted when he kept making mistakes."

"He came to the rooftop, you know?" Jaemin pointed at the edge, "He sat there until Jeno came."

Taeyong felt a chill go up his spine. "Jaemin, what is going on?"

Jaemin hesitated for a moment before he spilled the whole story. Taeyong reached for his phone.

 

 

 

Sejun woke up with a start due to the sound of a message from the SM higher-ups.

_We got news of what you've been doing. You are now fired and should not appear at this building tomorrow._

He cursed under his breath and dialed Jaesung's number.

"We've been ousted. Get the kids"

Renjun's eyes opened and he backed away from Sejun, wanting to run and tell the other Dreamies to go before Jaesung comes. Sejun lunged forward and pulled Renjun towards him, using his other free hand to open his desk drawer and take out a drug filled syringe. With no mercy, he jabbed it into Renjun's arm making the boy scream in pain.

The drug took effect quickly and Renjun found himself floating between dream and reality.

In his hazy vision, he saw Sejun walk out before returning with Jisung and Chenle. Both were scared, but once they saw Renjun drugged, they kicked and screamed for help. With a harsh movement, Sejun banged their heads against the wall, leaving two stains of red before making his way to the cupboard. 

Fighting against unconsciousness, Renjun dragged himself off the bed and to the cupboard where Sejun was hiding Chenle and Jisung, blocking the doors with a chair. When Sejun saw Renjun on the floor, he laughed and kicked Renjun in the abdomen, bringing blackness to his vision.

 

 

 

After Sejun left after asking for Jisung and Chenle to come with him, Haechan and Jeno could not sleep, so Jeno turned up the faucet to fill the bathtub to bath. Haechan was in his room, reading a book he found interesting after years of abandonment on his shelf.

The door flew open and Jaesung marched in, eyes wild. Jeno, who was in the living room, stood up in shock, asking why he was there.

Jaesung caught Jeno by the collar and threw him against a rack of books, his head hitting the sharp edge. He fell to the floor, unconscious, the whole rack coming down on top of him heavily.

Haechan jogged out of his room, saw Jeno, and turned to run but Jaesung gripped him by the back of his shirt, pulling him in and slamming him against the wall.

Dizzy and disoriented, Haechan could only struggle feebly when he was pulled to the bathroom where the faucet was still on. Jaesung took one look at Haechan and the bath tub, and Haechan knew his fate. He struggled even harder, clawing at the hand wrapped around his neck before Jaesung pushed his whole body into the full tub, underwater.

Haechan tried to kick but Jaesung was holding his legs down with his knees and his arms were still tightly wrapped around Haechan's neck.

Haechan felt the impulse to breath wash over him, but he fought it. His lungs felt on fire and after almost a minute, he finally let the water in.

The water burned like lava, choking him, making him gasp for breath only for more water to rush in. 

_I want to live, I want to live, I want to live I want to live_

His eyesight went blurry and he succumbed to the darkness.

 

 

 

A single phone call from Taeyong had the whole NCT on their feet to Sejun's room. The door was locked but Johnny wasted no time to use his shoulder to force it open. They stumbled inside, looking around. 

They saw Renjun on the floor, shirtless.

"Oh My God!" Kun screamed and ran to the boy, flipping him over.

Lucas was on the phone, telling the SM security to find Sejun, eyes wild.

Ten was calling for an ambulance and police, his voice an octave higher than usual.

"Why is he on the floor?" Sicheng wondered and his gaze followed where Renjun's arm was outstretched, to the closet where a chair blocked it from opening.

"Sicheng?" Jungwoo questioned but Sicheng moved almost blindly to the cupboard and pulled away the chair. Slowly, he opened the doors and two unconscious boys fell out.

"Jisung! Chenle!" Jaemin yelled and hurried to the youngsters, checking them for injuries. His eyes wandered to the twins scarlet stains on the wall. "Oh My-"

Taeil followed his line of view. "I think we need to find the others."

"I'll go" Taeyong said and looked around. "Mark, Jaehyun, Johnny, Yuta, Doyoung, with me. Come on!"

They raced upstairs.

 

 

The Dream Dorms door was also open and they rushed inside. 

The first person they saw was Jaesung, wet and filthy. Their eyes then moved to Jeno who was under a book rack and they exploded into motion. Yuta and Jaehyun tackled Jaesung to the ground, punching and swearing in his face for hurting their bandmates. Doyoung and Taeyong rushed to Jeno, lifted the rack of books and lifting the unconscious boy away from it. Teh blood stain on the rack told the story and Doyoung called the others about their situation. 

"The ambulance and police have arrived" Ten's said from the phone.

"Tell them to get here" Doyoung replied.

Mark and Johnny were looking around the house, searching for Haechan. He seemed to be missing, until Johnny heart the sound of overflowing water in the bathtub. Picking up his pace, he ran to the bathroom where water spilled from the edges of the tub.

Johnny made his way forward, turned off the faucet before he looked into the tub. Under the water was Haechan.

Johnny cried out in shock before lifting Haechan out, his body heavy from the water.  He rushed him to the living room where the others were and set him down.

"Oh my God" Taeyong sobbed. "Why?"

"He's not gone yet!" Mark placed two hands over Haechan's chest and started to press down repeatedly. "Wake up, Hyuck, Wake Up!"

He leaned forward, tilted Haechan's head up, and blew air into his mouth. Johnny continued to press Haechan's chest out while Mark continued his mouth-to-mouth CPR. 

"Please, Hyuckie!" Mark was sobbing now. "Please!"

Haechan lurched upward and vomited, making everyone cry out in relief. Mark patted Haechan's back, letting him cough harshly, The door opened and police along with paramedics swarmed in, their faces serious.

"We'll take it from here, boys" a police said and took a bloody faced Jaesung away. "The other person was captured also, before he could leave the building"

Taeyong let the paramedics lift the two Dreamies away, brows furrowed in worry. When he saw the look on Mark's face, he pulled him in for a hug. It was one of the rare moments that Mark Lee cried out of fear and worry and guilt for not being there with them.

"It's gonna be alright now. It's gonna be alright"

 

 

 

There were no threatening injuries but they were all hospitalized. Their families, near and far, came over to take care of them, to provide comfort that a therapist could not. Renjun had to go through through a process of cleaning his blood while many others had concussions. With quick discussion, they all decided to have therapy together.

There was also the process that they feared.

"Do you want to disband?" 

"No"

"Why?"

"Because family doesn't break up"

The managers were brought to prison and the Dreamies had to have pictures taken of their bodies as a proof of the abuse. When Taeyong saw the bruises, he cried until Renjun comforted him. Life became troublesome with sudden flashbacks happening sometimes, causing a scene during practice.

It was all a matter of baby steps.

Renjun had extra therapy for the impact of being touched by Sejun. Jaemin and Jeno were stuck together, as were Chenle and Jisung. Haechan's weight loss was dealt with by a professional and the members tried to get him used to eating again, saying that no one would get hurt. When Haechan showed Mark the file of comments, Mark opened the stove and burned them.

The whole NCT went on hiatus to bond once again with the Dreamies and keep them comfortable and stable. Panic attacks came now and then, but were slowly being dealt with more easily. When all the Dreamies went for therapy, Taeyong made sure he was right beside them, as did Mark.

Slowly, SM finally felt like a family again.

NCTzens didn't take the news well and blames SM for hiring the managers and let things get out of hand. A quick conference with NCT brought down the havoc quickly so the Dreamies didn't have to deal with the questions when they came back. Things were starting to seem normal.

"To the World, NCT!"

"Hi, we're NCT and we're back after a long time! We decided to make a comeback as NCT 2019 rather than by unit since it's been a hard time for all of us. We'll try our best and I'm sure Seasonies are excited, right?" Taeyong's call was answered by loud voices and green lights. "I hope you enjoy our stage!"

 

 

Yeah, things were looking better after all.

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!!! I hope you guys enjoyed this piece and I'm open to constructive criticism! Do leave kudo's and comments too!!! BTW, the song 'So Come At Me' is just made up, but I'm here for the next comeback!!! Bye~


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